I am having a hard time finding St James Royal Amber Rum. My local liquor store does not carry it. I have found some on the net from NY, CA, and FL but I do not think I can have liquor shipped by mail or UPS to Arkansas. Any suggestions.

I recently found out that liquor stores in Arkansas can not buy or sell St James or Lemon Hart. Apparently there is a book that states what brands of liquor can be sold in Arkansas. Maybe every state has one also.However I there is a liquor store in Missouri right across the border. Can I order those rare brands and have it shipped there. Has anybody ever had liquor such as St James or Lemon Hart shipped to another liquor store. Let me know your thoughts?

On 2012-02-15 07:03, old band alum wrote:I recently found out that liquor stores in Arkansas can not buy or sell St James or Lemon Hart. Apparently there is a book that states what brands of liquor can be sold in Arkansas. Maybe every state has one also.However I there is a liquor store in Missouri right across the border. Can I order those rare brands and have it shipped there. Has anybody ever had liquor such as St James or Lemon Hart shipped to another liquor store. Let me know your thoughts?

You will not be able to ship alcoholic beverages to a retail store. Stores that sell alcohol must purchase though the legal distribution system in their state, ie, from a licensed distributor. Keep shopping for a store online that will ship to AR and have it shipped to your house, nobody will be the wiser. It's ilegal to ship alcohol into Ohio, but that's never stopped myself or tens of thousands of Ohioans from doing so. Also, it's not that LH or ElDo can't be sold in Arkansas, it's just that the importers for those brands have not yet not reached a distributed agreement with a distributor in that state yet. It's the same situation in many other states.

I live in Cincinnati, less than 10 minutes from the Northern Kentucky border. Ohio is a Control State, meaning that the State is the both the liquor distributor and retailer for anything that's over 24% abv. In plain simple English that means that Ohio has a shitty selection of spirits and sky high prices, which is why almost everyone in the greater Cincinnati area heads to Kentucky to shop for spirits. I mail order what I can't get in Northern Kentucky.

Oh, no, I wonder if this is joining Lemon Hart, as a "crisis rum" (or, "rhum")?
I checked the Texas chain (Spec's) that usually has plenty of St. James rums at a good price. Instead of the usual "Available", they're showing either "Limited Availability" or "Call Store", and that's for the only 6 or 7 locations in the state that still have any at all. The pricier Hors D'Age is showing at more stores, maybe a dozen.
Just checked, and I have 4 full and one partial bottle of Royal Ambre.
_________________"The rum's the thing..."

Sadly, Total Wine no longer carries any St. James. They used to have the Extra Old on the shelf and would order Hors D'Age for me when asked. Now, they don't even carry Clement VSOP or any other rums from Martinique. They do well with El Dorado Demerara; the five, twelve and fifteen year old. I get them to order the 8 year old for me as I prefer that for mixing. Same with Coruba, I get them to order the 1.75 jugs for me and I use them to refill the bottles in my bar (easier for mixing).

We suffer . . . how we Tiki-Drinkers suffer!

_________________I bet you feel more like you do now now than you did when you came in.

The issues with St. James have been discussed previously here. I remember reading that export to the US has been halted, and that it had something to do with low volume of sales here. If memory serves correctly, the product has not been discontinued but will continue to be bottled in France.

St. James is wonderful in Mai Tais. I still have two bottles left, of two different varieties/ages, but for personal use only.

The Rhum Clement VSOP report is news to me - that was our replacement Martinique rum. I'll have to cruise by Total Wine this week and check that out. I will also check with other specialty sellers to see if they have it in stock, and if not, if they can get it.

I just found Royal Ambre and Imperial Blanc at the store at the airport in St Thomas, not that it helps anyone who isn't traveling to the Caribbean. It is actually really difficult to find any Martinique rums (or any good rums) in the Caribbean, the best selection was at the airport on the way out.

I also heard from Keg n Bottle in Hollywood that they are not shipping anymore St James. This is quite sad. I really like this rum and I hope this will not last.